Cybercrime generally refers to criminal activity involving computer systems. Such criminal activity includes the use of computer systems to perpetrate crimes and illegally access private electronic data. Cybercriminals may gain access to private user account information in a number of ways. For example, cybercriminals may obtain user account credentials and information by exploiting weaknesses in centralized computer systems, by infiltrating local computer systems of users, by deceiving users into providing account information, by stealing user account information directly from a source, and by intercepting user account information from a user or network.
Online user identities often are interconnected across various organizations and intertwined with the lives of users. For example, a user may provide different organizations with the same e-mail address managed by an e-mail service provider. In one example, a user may provide the same e-mail address to various merchants, businesses, government agencies, service providers, or other organizations as a unique username or contact information.
In addition, online accounts and identities of users often are accessible via an e-mail account of a user. For example, an e-mail account may be used to access and reset other accounts associated with merchants, financial institutions, social networks, and various online services. Thus, a cybercriminal may use e-mail account credentials of a user to compromise other accounts of the user.
Information privacy generally refers to the protection of sensitive user data. For example, data privacy rules and regulations may be defined and enforced by federal, state, and local government agencies. Various industries and organizations also may define and self-regulate user data privacy. Such regulations generally place tight controls and restrictions over data sharing. Thus, organizations generally are prohibited from sharing details about user account information, even in a security-related context.
Therefore, providing new and improved ways of preventing, identifying, mitigating, and resolving illegal online activity while maintaining the highest standards for the data privacy are of importance.